Mets Fall Victim To Longball Yet Again

Any hope of the Mets making a serious playoff run died this week at home against the Nationals and over the past few days in Los Angeles. The last four nights were particularly brutal, with the Mets not even putting up a fight.

This vulnerability to the longball has been a theme all year for the Mets, who are among the league’s worst at preventing them. The pitching staff is currently fourth-worst, behind only the Twins, Mariners, and Reds, in home runs allowed per nine innings.

They’ve also given up a combined 62 home runs in medium and high leverage situations, meaning they’re allowing them in the most important situations, among the league’s worst.

It wasn’t long ago that the Mets were among the league’s most adept at preventing the home run. Despite having a hard-throwing staff, the Mets allowed just 152 home runs last season, tied with the Marlins for best in baseball. In 2015, they also allowed 152, ranking them eighth in the game.

Last night, the Mets scratched out just three runs, but three Dodger home runs against Steven Matz and Paul Sewald gave LA a lead they would not relinquish. It was, at this point, a story that’s been told a thousand times.

Connor O'Brien is a fourth-year economics student at Rutgers University, a longtime writer here at MetsMerized Online, and an aspiring economist. He embraces sabermetrics but also highly values scouting. Follow him on Twitter at cojobrien.